The present invention relates to a staged lock feature for an electrical connector assembly and more particularly to a staged lock feature for an electrical connector assembly having a cam mating device.
Known electrical connector systems such as those used with automotive vehicle electrical harnesses typically comprise plastic housings for male and female connectors that fasten together to secure coupling of terminals mounted within the housings. Many male and female connector pairs require a high amount of force to completely engage, resulting in large exertion by the person assembling the connectors together.
To reduce the amount of effort required to assemble connectors while achieving reliable electrical continuity some connectors are provided with cam mating devices. Cam mating devices typically include one or more cam surfaces on an operator handle or lever that is mounted to the housing of one of the connectors to be mated. The other connector housing has one or more protruding cam followers to engage the cam surface(s) so that, as the lever or handle is moved in the desired direction, the cam surface(s) act on the cam follower(s), drawing the connector housings together and forcing secure engagement of the connectors.
One type of cam mating device is a cam lever that transfers rotary motion of the cam lever into linear movement between the connector and a mating connector, facilitating secure engagement of the two connectors and reducing the amount of operator exertion required when making the secure engagement. To operate, the connector having the cam follower must be xe2x80x9cstagedxe2x80x9d or partially inserted into the mating connector to properly orient the cam follower to the cam lever for initial cam engagement. Unfortunately, if the cam follower is not properly aligned to the cam lever, operation of the cam locking feature can result in inadvertent damage to the cam lever or may result in a poorly mated electrical connector assembly.
An electrical connector assembly has a first connector with preferably two oppositely protruding cam followers and a second connector has a pivoting cam lever having preferably two lever arms. The two lever arms respectively engage the cam followers when the first connector is initially staged and locked partially into a cavity defined by the second connector, and while the cam lever pivots from an open position and towards a mated position. The first connector once locked in the staged position within a forward cavity of the second connector can not be easily or inadvertently withdrawn. Thus, proper orientation of the cam followers to the cam lever is assured for initial cam engagement.
The connectors are locked in staged position by a tab which projects laterally from the first connector and a flex wall which is cantilevered from the second connector and extends forward and parallel to a mating direction of the assembly. During placement of the first connector into the staged position, a preferably ramped rearward facing surface of the tab engages a distal edge of the flex wall causing the flex wall to resiliently flex laterally outward until the tab snaps into a close ended elongated groove which extends along the mating direction. Withdrawal of the first connector from the second connector when in the staged position is prevented via engagement of a forward facing stop surface of the tab with a lock seat of the flex wall which defines the forward closed end of the groove. The stop surface of the tab is disposed substantially perpendicular to the mating direction. Therefore, any inadvertent force placed upon the connectors in a direction opposite to the mating direction will not have a tendency to flex the flex wall laterally outward which would then unwantedly release the flex wall from the tab and thus release the first connector from the staged position.
Advantages of the present invention include a cam lever engaging electrical connector assembly having a locked or non-releasing staged position for reliable engagement of the cam locking or mating feature. Yet other advantages of the present invention are the relatively simple and inexpensive design of the locked staged position feature and its easy incorporation into existing connector assembly designs to reduce the opportunity of cam lever damage during the connector mating process.